#ThrowBackToday: In 1997 today, Kerala connected all its villages via telephones becoming the first state to do so

In today's #TBT, we take you back to the time when landlines were a thing. Scratch that. When landlines were the only things! This is why it was an achievement for Kerala to have them in all villages
Landlines | (Pic: Internet)
Landlines | (Pic: Internet)

Kerala has had many firsts for sure, the most recent one is becoming one of the first states to flatten the Coronavirus curve. But we would like to take you back to a different first. On April 10, 1997, it became the first state to have public telephones in all of its villages. Quite a feat, huh? It became accessible over STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling)/ISD (International Subscriber Dialling) from any part of the world. Basically, that meant you could make both local and international calls. That was a win for the coastal state.

The illusion of a dream
The Great Gatsby was all about the great American Dream. The one that dictates that if you work hard, success will come to you. American author F Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the downfalls of this illusion in his book, which was published on April 10, 1925. It's a short book, won't take you long to breeze through it. But boy, will the story stay with you. Especially if you have watched the very many versions of it on screen, to supplement your reading.

A rich man whose ways seem crooked pinning away for a former love who is now a part of high society. If this is what you think the book is all about, you are not the first one. This novel was what most would call a sleeper hit. It was only slowly but steadily that people woke up to the undertones of class and old money-new money concepts that it detailed.

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